A. Introduction.
1. This is a rather lengthy article written here as a conclusion of the work of Jesus Christ in salvation.
2. It is primarily directed against the evil practice of Roman Catholocism in praying to saints.
3. It really contains two subjects:
a. Christ’s work of intercession as our Mediator.
b. Our prayers which we offer to God through Jesus Christ.
B. The Roman Catholic doctrine and its refutation in this article.
1. The Roman Catholic church taught:
a. That there are men who have lived here upon earth who have arrived at perfection because of their good works. They have an honored place in heaven above the people of God for their self-mortification and accumulation of goodness.
b. These saints are honored and ought to be honored by us especially by our prayers to them. This is especially true of the Virgin Mary who is the Queen of Heaven and Co-Mediator with Christ. But it is also true of the other saints.
c. This is necessary because the believer knows that he is unworthy to appear either before God or before Christ; therefore he goes to the saints first that he may seek their cooperation and influence in petitioning God.
2. This is severely condemned by this article.
a. Although the article does not specifically condemn the whole Romish idea of sainthood and the doctrine of good works implied in it, nevertheless it makes the pertinent remark, “And if we seek for one who hath power and majesty, who is there that hath so much of both as he who sits at the right hand of the Father, and who hath all power in heaven and on earth?”
b. With respect to the position of Rome that prayers honor the saints, the article answers that it rather dishonors them for it is a practice of “doing that which they never have done nor required, but have, on the contrary, steadfastly rejected, according to their bounden duty, as appears by their writings.”
c. And although it is true that the believer who prays is deeply conscious of his own unworthiness, this is not a reason to go to the saints first of all, for,
1) This is a false humility showing rather that we distrust Christ. For, “this Mediator, whom the Father hath appointed between him and us, ought in nowise to affright us by his majesty, or cause us to seek another according to our fancy.”
2) Our unworthiness need not scare us from Christ’s presence, for, “there is no creature, either in heaven or on earth, who loveth us more than Jesus Christ;… If then, we should seek for another mediator, who would be well affected towards us, whom could we find who loved us more than he who laid down his life for us, even when we were his enemies?”
3) Our unworthiness does not enter into the picture and we must not plead here our unworthiness; “for the meaning is not that we should offer our prayers to God on account of our own worthiness, but only on account of the excellence and worthiness of our Lord Jesus Christ, whose righteousness is become ours by faith.”
d. And finally this article at least implies that praying to saints has degenerated into idolatry which indeed in actual fact it has.
C. Thus Christ is our only Advocate, before the face of the Father.
1. He is our only Advocate because He united in one person the divine and human nature. Only because He is divine and human both can He intercede for us before the throne of God.
2. He became our Advocate because of His highpriestly work.
a. He was eternally appointed by God as our Mediator.
b. To accomplish this work He came into our flesh as our High Priest and gave Himself as the perfect Lamb of God in the perfect sacrifice for sin on the cross of Calvary.
c. But even as the high priest of the Old Dispensation, He carried the blood of atonement into the Most Holy Place of God’s presence. Only He did so by arising from the dead and taking, not the blood of a bull, but His own precious blood, to lay it before the face of His Father.
d. On the basis of this perfect sacrifice, He continually pleads before the Father, asking the Father to bless His people with all spiritual blessings which God has prepared for them.
e. God answers His prayer by bestowing upon Him all these blessings, which He in turn pours out upon His church through His Spirit.
3. He is our perfect Mediator because,
a. He loved us so much that He was willing to go the dark way of the cross for us.
b. He was made like unto us in all things except our sins, and therefore knows all our infirmities, in all points tempted as we are, and therefore, able to succor those who are tempted.
c. He is exalted in the highest heavens clothed with power and glory and therefore able to give us all that is necessary to our full and complete salvation.
d. He is surely heard of the Father because He is the Son and finished all that the Father sent Him into the world to accomplish.
D. Thus we may confidently pray in His name.
1. To pray in Jesus’ name means that we base our prayer on His merit.
a. We are deeply aware of our own sin and unworthiness. We know that God can never receive us as we are in ourselves.
b. But we base all our petitions on the fact that Christ died for us to remove all our sin and guilt, and to merit for us the blessings of salvation.
2. Thus He prepared the way for us into the Father’s presence. Formerly, in the dispensation of types, the way to God was closed by a veil. But when Jesus died, the veil of the temple was rent. And this did not simply mean that the old order of things had passed away, but also that through the rending of the veil which is His flesh, He prepared a new and living way for us into the presence of the Father.
3. Although even our prayers are imperfect, they are nevertheless heard. For Jesus our Lord makes constant intercession for us. He purifies our prayers. If we ask for something we should not, He tells the Father not to give us what we ask, for we do not know what we are talking about. If we do not ask for that which we need, He presents our needs before the face of our Father so that we receive all things necessary to bring us to our eternal reward.
4. Finally, we must pray in faith. We cannot and may not impose our carnal wishes upon God, but we must pray in the consciousness that we belong to Christ and for Christ’s sake are sons in our Father’s house. And when we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, we know that the Spirit within us prays for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.